Thy Beauty is Amazing!:) :D

Exploring things alone has a charm of its own. Being a single traveler in Leh was met with a few “Ahan(Eyebrows up)” kind of an expression. I have got used to it nowJ.

Though I’m alone I never feel lonely. I feel the loving presence of God at every step and at every moment. Looking at the beauty of Leh my mouth just hangs gaping. I can’t help wonder about the magnanimous nature of God which is frankly incomprehensible.

Traveling in a local bus which is as big as my washroom was quite daunting. The aisle was so small I was left thinking “How in the world do people travel in this”?. But they doJ And quite comfortably that is. It has also led me to understand and appreciate everything that is easily available in Delhi but no so in Leh. I spent my Sunday exploring monasteries because sitting at home is not something I’m very good at. My boss dropped me till the bus station and off I went to see monasteries around Leh. My first stop was Stakna. Aah! Stunning is an understatement because it was so much more. The area around Stakna is surrounded by hills and snowy mountains. There are huge tracts of land which are unoccupied and unhabitated. As soon as I got off my bus I went lunatic. Seeing such humongous open spaces surrounded by mountains is not what I’m used to. I jumped around the area took a lot of pictures. Smiled, grew ecstatic, laughed and so much more.

As soon as my shenanigans were over I walked almost three kilometers up towards Stakna monastery. Now to reach Stakna monastery I had to cross a beautiful old bridge which is established over the striking river Indus. The joy of listening to a river flow by is indescribable. The bridge was covered with different colored prayer flags fluttering along with the wind. I reached the monastery after fifteen minutes or so. There was not much to see as most monasteries are same but the best part was that there was a small pink colored building that stood atop the monastery. As soon as I saw that I moved right towards it and the view from the place left me breathless and speechless. I could see huge green conical trees; which looked like grass from that height; and the river Indus flowing by quietly forming small rapids at every turn. At the backdrop was snow covered beauties. I spent alone time there and thanked God for bringing me here. I descended down his rocky slippery terrain and I almost slipped at one point but it was good funJ. I waited for the bus to my next stop Thikse for almost fifteen minutes. As soon as I reached Thikse I was famished. I desperately needed food. So I went to this small idyllic restaurant called Chamba and rested myself there for some time. As soon as I got in the waiter asked me “So ma’am are you with that group(pointing towards a boisterous group of six people)?” I said “No(straight face)”. Then he just looked at me for a moment and said” Ohhhhhhh(Nods head and twitches eyes in a weird way)”. I couldn’t help but smile noticing his reaction. Anyway , I ordered a Tibetan dish by the name of Thustma or something. It was yummy!I think I ate too much because I was not able to walk up to Thikse monastery. I was so tired I rested at every step.Phew!Thikse monastery was no different.I just took a lot of pictures , interacted with a few monks, shouted ‘Julay’ and walked downstairs. Oh and I also went up a few creepy staircases just to see what lies ahead but there was nothing so I was a little disappointed. I hopped on to the next bus which then took me to Shey Palace. It was the palace of the royal family before they shifted to another village named Stok; in the nineteenth century. The main attraction here is the statue of Buddha covered with precious stones and gems. Sadly it was closed for the day so I missed seeing that. Anyway I wandered around the place and took some gorgeous photographs. It was empty except for this bunch of guys who were discussing Madeira.Hee Hee! Thankfully they were going down while I was moving upstairs. Oh but I could’nt help notice one of these guys had an AMAZING NIKON DSLR. Praying for the day when I will own my very OWN DSLR with a superb lens. I’m sure God will answer my prayer soon just like everything else. Love Him so muchJ..Moving on I went downstairs and kept on walking for half an hour. That way I explored the countryside better. There were huge tracts of farm lands and it was getting cloudy with the wind blowing on my face. It was such a blessing to experience that. I waited for my bus at a desolate area where there was nothing but trees and barren mountains around. Finally a bus came by but it was so overcrowded that I was almost hanging out of it. The best part was that I could see the meadows and pastures, feel the wind, smile all over again, dream and pray for more such experiences to come by. 

When God listens...Ladakh beckons:) :D :D

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Sitting in the office going back to the days when I was praying hard to get a volunteer job I never imagined that I would end up in a place as pure and beautiful as Leh.

Glancing out of my window I see the mighty mountains with their peaks being kissed by clouds. These clouds are grey and the rays of the golden sun cut through them to highlight the amazing detail that lies within each cloud. I feel so privileged to be a part of Ladakh Heart Foundation. People here are so humble and polite; which is good break from the generally rude people back home. It amazes me that every person here is ready to serve one another with a smile on their face. They never tire of being hospitable to people who are completely different from them. Every person that I have met till now says “Joolay” meaning ‘Hello’ with a big huge smile. People in Ladakh are economically poor but the chambers of their heart are overflowing with the treasures of love and goodness. My first day was quite eventful. The flight from Delhi to Leh was real quick. I felt like I was lifted and dropped within a minute. A nice Bengali couple ; in their late sixties, were next to me. I showed off my Bengali skills by shouting ‘Khoob Bhalo’ while viewing the gorgeous terrain of the Himalayan range. They were very pleased indeed. J

The room that I stay in couldn’t have had a better view than the one I’m enjoying right now. Draw the curtains and there you see the gigantic mountains greeting me with their mightiness. They look like a conical dark brown chocolate fudge cake sprinkled with a generous amount of icing sugar at the top. I lazed around the whole day lest I get altitude sickness. So a large part of my day was spent sleeping. I did not really develop any breathing problems as I was warned off back home. The transition from dilli’s garmi to Leh’s khoobsurati was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. I visited Shey palace, Shanti Stupa, Sindu Ghat(by the time I reached there the festival was over and it was completely deserted), Indus river, saw the royal family’s palace and walked around Leh market.

My evening was spent pretty well as I went out for dinner with my boss at this nice restaurant called Tibetan Kitchen. I wanted to try something different so I opted for Mutton Phee Phee soup(Mutton dumplings with boiled vegetables that are slightly raw). It was really warm and something that I desperately needed in this cold weather. After dinner went shopping for bread but got buns instead which I devoured this morning with eggs and butter. Electricity or rather the lack of it is something that I will have to live with for the time that I’m here. Everything is very erratic leaving aside the water supply(which is 24 hours a day).Even local communication is challenge here with most areas being out of range. I just hope to get my own local number pretty soon before my family goes crazy trying to get in touch with me. Internet is also a problem with most cafes charging Rs.120 for one hour of usage. Like I’m going to pay that much.The issue here is that since its snowing for atleast 7-8 months in this region people make the most of business during summer months so that they can save enough for winters. Many people prefer to stay inside the kitchen and make handicrafts to make a living during the harsh winters. As far as I know I can only dream of experiencing a snowfall for the time that I’m here.Adios!

Raft along! :D :D

There is no rushing a river. When you go there, you go at the pace of the water and that pace ties you into a flow that is older than life on this planet. Acceptance of that pace, even for a day, changes us, reminds us of other rhythms beyond the sound of our own heartbeats. –Jeff Rennicke

“White water rafting” I screamed as soon as we left for Rishikesh. I’m a person who is generally over enthusiastic about everything- about LIFE itself. It has been my dream to experience the power of Ganga for the past one year and finally when it happened I was overjoyed! So all four of us booked a cab and off we went to get lost among the Shivaliks. The first day we spent swimming and lazing around the hotel and then finally the day came when we were about to start our rafting session.


We chose a 22 km long(4 hours) route that started from Marine Drive(Yes there’s one near Rishikesh too) all the way to Rishikesh, at a place called anaime beach. It was really close to the hotel where we were staying.


Our rafting started at 11:30 am and the first thing we did as soon as we jumped into our raft was to jump out of our raft into the cold, freezing, hypothermia-inducing waters of Ganges. By the way,it was just Nisha , the instructor and I. So Nisha and I splashed around in the waters of Ganga wearing our lifejackets and helmets.


The feeling of swimming/floating in the Ganga is beyond description. We were surrounded by hills on both sides and we could see an odd truck or two traveling atop one of the hills. And we could see our Dad waving at us from atop the hill and finally disappearing at one of the bends. We went along with the current. There were other groups who were floating past us and those groups were made up of ten people and more. Here we were , with just three people on a raft I was a little apprehensive about how we would cut through the rapids without falling off. Anyway, It was momentary because I was glad that Nisha and I could do whatever we wanted to do as and when we pleased. The welcome rapids were easy to cut through and weren’t that difficult .The next rapid that we faced was called balancing rapids. The instructor asked us to stand on top of the boat and balance ourselves. ”Ermm..What?” I said because the waters looked scary. The rapids were hitting our boat slowly and I could feel going up and down along with the movement of the boat. I said “But what if we fall into this scary water?” and the Instructor said “Nothing will happen just balance yourself”. Anyway both of us tried doing that but we fell as soon as the boat moved down with the rapids. We did not fall off the boat just into it.


As we moved on we experienced other rapids too whose names I can’t recall. What is etched in my memory is the beautiful scenery I experienced along the way. We saw caves and hilly rocks that looked mighty and huge. These ancient hills were mesmerizing to look at. And how can I forget, doing a backstroke on the ganges was a beautiful experience. The warm sun shining down on us, the blue sky, the cotton-y clouds which seemed to move along with us, birds chirping and flying over us all of this created a sense of peace in our hearts. Then came a moment when the instructor asked us to jump into one of the rapids. Now this rapid looked downright scary. The waves were swirling and twirling. The current was very strong and suddenly the instructor screamed “Jump” and I said “What???!!!”. He said “This is a body rapid please jump right now”. Nisha and I jumped. Atleast I closed my eyes when I jumped into the seemingly angry water. I held on the boat as tightly as I could because I feared getting lost. And the waves hit my face. I moved up,down,up,went left,right,left,right and it went on for five minutes. Finally when the rapids vanished the instructor pulled us up by our lifejackets. Then we rowed along for some time. And we rowed, swam, rowed, and swam till we reached Shivpuri. It was a stop by and the instructor said “I will go look for more people to join our boat because it may get dangerous ahead and we need more power in our rowing”. So at Shivpuri(we were still twelve kms away from our destination) two men from this huge Bengali group decided to join us for the next half of our trip. And they said “Oh my Gosh , we will have to put a lot of effort in this one because the boat in which we were in had ten other people”. We were like “Good for you!”. So we moved on. The rapids from shivpuri onwards looked livid. All the other rapids were easy to cut through and finally we reached a very very dangerous looking rapid. Infact, the rapid sounded irate from further up. It was a grade –III rapid called Roller Coaster. The instructor warned us saying "Please don’t scream and yell when you are cutting through the rapid else you will not be able to hear my instructions clearly!". So In we went and boy it WAS SCARY. There were rocks all around and the waves were crashing all over. The instructor screamed “Hard Forward!!!!!” and then “Whoosssh” a huge wave hit our raft and I fell into the water along with the other two guys. Nisha was saved (though she feels bad about it) and fell into the boat because the huge wave of voluminous water came from her side of the raft. And I remember this huge wave of white water covering my eyes and Nisha putting her arm forward with a scared expression on her face screaming “Nehhaaaaa!!!”. And there I was in the water bobbing along the strong current and waves(I was wondering “Goodness, how can anyone ever swim through this current without drowning?). The instructor threw a rope at me and I held on to it at the second throw. He pulled me into the raft. The other two guys just kept floating along the waves and I could see the panicked expression on the face of one of the guys. He later called it a “Near death experience”.Haha!.Anyway the instructor pulled them into the raft with the rope. One of the guys lost his “Prized-goggles” in the water while sifting through the currents.


Roller coaster was the only rapid where I was yanked right off my boat into the murky waters. Rest of the rapids were easy to cut through. I wanted to cliff jump as well but the water level was too low to try that lest I break my skull! Finally we reached our destination after four hours of continuous rowing. We were totally drenched, soaked and thirsty at the end of it all.All we wanted was for Dad to just pick up us as soon as possible. It was an experience of years to come before I try the more dangerous Brahmaputra river for white water rafting?!:D. The thought itself gives me an adrenalin rush!Whoooopie!

Walk-A-Thon!:D

 I would go as far as saying that to discover yourself just WALK! And walk alone often! Well I always prefer to walk alone because it helps me connect to my inner self. My soul speaks to me when I’m all alone walking down a beautiful park. It’s a spiritual and emotional experience and not subtracting the physical benefits of it all. My mind wanders to a place of its own; dreaming up of a future that I envision for myself.

My eyes see all that’s going around and it feels as if they are speaking to the universe; sending out a message that I fail to comprehend at times. A language of its own forming a bond that always becomes stronger when I’m alone and walking.

Yes, I do become poetic when I ponder and brood about all that happens to me when I’m fully absorbed in my daily walks. It is such an important part of my life now that without it I feel as if they is a heavy burden stuck all over my body which I have to get rid of. And as long as it is there I won’t feel peaceful or joyous. I just have to get away from home for some time and recharge by indulging myself completely in walking for miles and hours. I don’t get tired, I don’t huff and pant and most certainly I don’t say “Phew “at the end of it all.

And walking in the midst of nature is the greatest blessing of all. I thank my Lord everyday for the numerous blessings I get too see everyday and some of them are :

1) Seeing little girls dressed in pink frocks playing with yellow Frisbees enjoying like there’s no trouble in the world.

2) Little boys rolling all over the grass laughing away to glory.

3) Parents trying to play badminton with their children and getting tired.

4) Old couples STILL in love.

5) Watching people do Yoga (Well I just had to say this)

6) The absolute variety of flowers available (Oh! How creative our God is)

7) The way the last rays of the sun disappear behind the leaves of tall trees.

8) Watching the moon hidden by the cotton ball clouds.

9) Walking on old, dried and very yellow leaves strewn all over .The way they crack up when I walk all over them. I feel dead leaves still have the power to spread joy.

10) Seeing empty wooden benches encircled under the shade of trees. The empty benches are pretty wonderful to look at.:)

 That’s my list of blessings I get to encounter each and every day. Moreover, I feel light (And I’m light in terms of being skinny as well) , bouncy, bubbly, happy and yappy!

Aaaaaahh!! The wonders of it all!:) 

Addicted to Happiness

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.

-David Steindl Rust

Cribbing,complaining,crying,bawling...Ugh!How it puts everyone around us down? Sometimes I feel we just focus so hard on the everything that looks like a dud , that Mr.Dud seems like he is the most important thing in life at the moment.

Especially me, I would just turn into a nervous wreck if things don't go my way. If a teeny weeny itsy bitsy ant sized problem comes my way I would go stark raving mad.Of course, with age comes wisdom and I have learnt not to develop a lunatice-throwing-things-all-around-kinda fit anytime things don't happen the way I'v planned them.Im more re-active than pro-active. Just makes me realize that sometimes I should just see the numerous possiblilties instead of all thats upside down in my imagination.

Countless books ,audio/video tapes,seminars,workshops have been read,conducted,listened to,admired,appreciated but this whole Positive thinking never really got into my head till I started applying it. Im going to be a graduate pretty soon and I cant help but be amazed at how tension seems to hover all around me.From all directions I just notice worried and at times comical expressions. Funnily, I'm going through a very calm phase. A HAPPY, POSITIVE phase. My Lord just whispers into my heart "Its all gonna be alright, Im the one holding you" and all worries seen to melt away. A prayer is all I need to get my energies back up. :)

Meditating on the wonders and inherent goodness of God makes me realize how much he cares for me and In His hands nothing can go wrong. He created me to be successful, joyous, beautiful and worthy of love because after all God does not create junk. He created us in His image and in his likeness. I say these lines to my myself and have them stuck on my brain like Post-it notes.

This happiness cannot be explained and His peace is truly beyond my understanding. Of one thing Im sure that God has a great wonderful plan for my future and eventually I will figure it out with His help.

Worrying about something that is beyond my control is a waste because it wont provide me with a solution and it wont stop trouble coming my way. So why worry anyway?. Not that I believe in going with the flow and accepting life the way it is going. Its just in Him I feel bold enough to try a few things and see what works best:)..He gives me the strength to deal with uncertainities and during times of trouble he will be my Refuge.

My reason for Happiness Addiction is Jesus. I love you Lord:)...

Sunday Afternoon..Lazy Sunday afternoon!

"Slow down, you crazy child you're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart, tell me
Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You'd better cool it off before you burn it out
You've got so much to do and
Only so many hours in a day "

- Billy Joel, Vienna

Neeeeeeehhhhaaaaaaaa...Palm sunday today...Wake up you twit..(Ok that was for extra effect)

Mother screams my name at the top of her voice and I'm sure people in my neighborhood were thrown out of their beds, their bells stopped ringing in the middle of daily devotion and hot milk overflowed because Mrs. Saileja next door was busy paying attention. At times I feel "Oh Mom just let it be" especially keeping in mind how busy I like to keep my weekends. The problem with me is I just cant stay still.I have to engage myself in some little project or the other.ALWAYS.My mind runs at 1000 miles a minute because im always planning the next BIG thing even while Im still doing the NEXT BIG THING which I planned five minutes ago.

Mom always complains saying "Will you just slow down for a minute and hang out in the house like an unleashed donkey; if being like that works best for you?" Well thats exactly what im doing today.Absolute stillness.The joy of nothing-ness.I woke up late at 12.Prayed.Read.Slept some more.Cuddled my mother.Helped out in the kitchen.Oh, and I PLAN (HAHA) to make banana cake today.And this was after a long long time. I guess sometimes its just better to slow down and take things easy. I'v always been in a rush.Doing this.Doing that.

I remember this one time I went totally Nuts-zoid trying to be a cross between Superwoman and Wonderwoman.Oh boy, I had to have it all!So, I signed up for one and a half hours of yoga,one hour dance ,one hour swimming classes and add to the crazy mix my college and studies. College and studies usually took half of my day because of ongoing projects. My Haalaat* at that time is comaparable to a cleaner version of Amy Winehouse. Everything was happening so fast , at breakneck speed that I ended up breaking more than my neck! Honestly , now that I look back I wish I had EXERCISED(pun unintended) more restraint.

I wish I had taken time to enjoy one thing at a time , instead a grabbing everything that was in front of me. Now, I don't want to sound like an old woman who has thirteen cats in her house and hasn't lived her life. All I want to say is I wish I had lived more during that time instead of rushing into things. Not that I regret it because it taught me a great lesson about how PRECIOUS , how wonderful is this gift called TIME. God blesses each day of our lives with this beautiful gift called TIME and since we go through life only once its better you enjoy every moment before its gone:)

And yeah, I will attend Palm Sunday Mass.In the evening though:)

*Haalaat - Condition